The Beginning of Friendship
by rororogers
Summary: My version of how Ike and Buck came to be friends and the life they led up until they join the Pony Express.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Young Riders nor any of the characters. I really wished I owned Buck though ;)**

**A/N: This one is for mssilenthorse. I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - Ike's POV<strong>

Life had been perfect. I had a loving Pa and Ma and a little sister that I loved to tease. Even after I lost my hair to the Scarlet Fever, I never felt like I was a freak because of my appearance because my family loved me. We were dirt poor framers, barely had two cents to rub together most times but we always had plenty to eat. Our clothes may have been worn but they were always clean. During the summer we would go barefooted but Pa would somehow manage to get us shoes for the winter. We always had love.

And then it all changed. We had all been outside enjoying a wonderful spring day. I was only around nine at the time. My sister Ellie was playing house with her dolls. Pa was getting his fishing gear together. I was flying my kite, that is until I heard Ma calling me, and she didn't sound happy. I looked over and saw our family bible in her hand and knew she had found the family picture I had colored on the front page.

I knew I was most likely fixing to get a whipping so I hid in Pa's work shed hoping she would cool down before she found me. I had just ducked inside when I heard the sounds of hoof beats approaching. I peeked out one of the windows and saw several men I didn't know ride in. They were shouting at Pa, demanding he hand over the money. I don't know what money they were talking about, we didn't have any. I guess Pa owed the wrong people money and these men had come to collect because when Pa told them he didn't have it, they shot him.

I was too scared to even cry out as my mother and sister ran from the men. They were shot in the back before they made it twenty feet. All I could do was hide. I wanted to scream, to cry out, but I couldn't I was too scared. The leader of the group told one of the other men to search the place, to find me. I hid in the corner as the man opened the work shed door and stepped in. He looked around, I could have sworn he looked right at me but he shouted out that there was no one there and he left. The murderers rode away. But I was too scared to leave the shed.

The daylight faded and night came but I still could not leave the shed. What if they came back for me? The sun rose and I still could not leave the shed. About midday I heard horses coming and knew they were coming back for me. I cowered in my corner to scared to even look. Then the door opened and in walked our neighbor Mr. Simmons. He called out to the sheriff saying he had found the boy and that I was alive.

The sheriff tried to get me to tell him what happened but when I opened my mouth to speak no sound came out. No matter how I tried no sound came out. The sheriff sent for the doctor. After the doctor examined me he said there was nothing wrong with my vocal chords that my voice may come back one day or not at all. He said I had been traumatized by what I had seen and that is why I could no longer talk. I heard Mr. Simmons say 'it's bad enough that the kid lost his hair now he's lost his family and his voice. He can't even tell us if he has any family anywhere else."

Even if I could talk it would have been useless, I had no other family that I knew of. My parents had never mentioned any relatives that were living. I had no one. Mr. Simmons took me to his home for the night. I was to stay with them until after the funerals and then the sheriff was going to delivery me to a mission school that was also an orphanage. I knew I would be in there for the rest of my childhood; no one was going to want a bald boy who could not speak.

After I had been delivered to the mission, I found that not all people were like my family. The nuns for the most part thought I was a dummy because I could not speak. Some knew I wasn't, they knew I had just had a very traumatic experience, those few tried to protect me from the others. But it was the way the other children acted that hurt the most.

They called me a freak and a dummy. They were scared of me. I didn't understand, I had never thought I was a mean kid. When I accidently brushed up against a young girl's arm one day, she started screaming and crying saying that her hair and tongue was going to fall out since I had touched her. Some of the older boys beat me up for it. After that day I never touched any of them again.

In order to protect myself I started making faces and drooling whenever any of the children would come near me. It worked on the younger ones but the older children still beat me, I learned how to fight and I learned well, but when three or four preteen boys gang up on a nine year old, it never fails for the nine year old to get their butt kicked.

I had been at the mission for about three years when I first saw him. I was just standing in the yard watching the other children play in the snow, wishing that they weren't scared of me. Wishing that I had a friend, wishing that I had a voice at least, that's when I saw him. At the time I did not know my wish had just been granted, all I knew was there was an Indian boy who looked to be about my age, standing at the gate watching the children and then he looked at me. His eyes had just focused on my face when he collapsed to the ground; I thought I had literally scared him to death.

I ran to get Mother Superior and led her to the boy crumpled at the gate. With the help of some of the other sisters they got the boy inside and into the hospital wing. He wasn't dead but had just passed out. I heard one of the sisters say that he was just about frozen solid, he hardly had a stitch of clothing on and it didn't look like he had been eating very well. I wanted to stay and make sure he was going to be alright but Mother Superior sent me back to my classes. I wouldn't see the boy again until a few days later.

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><p><strong>Buck's POV<strong>

Gone, they were gone. Mother was dead along with most the women and children. My mother lived long enough to tell me that Camille had been taken by the white trappers who had attacked our village. I had to find her. She had begged me to stay with her instead of going on the hunt. She knew something was going to happen, she had thought I was the one in danger. I should never have left her.

My brother Red Bear begged me to stay but without mother and Camille life in the village would be terrible. It was already hard enough being treated as an outsider among my own tribe just because of the way I had come to be. A white man who thought he could take whatever he wanted had wanted my mother, I was the result. My mother could have easily killed me when I was born but instead she kept me and loved me, but the others in the tribe did not. They did not trust me, they thought because my father had been such an evil man, I had to be tainted as well.

And then Camille came to live among my people. Her own family had been killed by Comanche. Red Bear and his father, my mother's husband, found her and brought her to live with the Kiowa. I was given the task to teach her our ways and our language. She in return taught me the white man's language. I fell in love with her at a very tender age, and had finally proven myself worthy of being promised to her so we could marry when we came of age. Now she is gone and I must find her.

I left our village with just the clothes on my back, my knife and my bow. I was foolish, I should have been better prepared, but I thought I could find her and bring her back quickly. It's been over a month and winter is here and I'm no closer to finding her. I need food and shelter if I'm to survive the winter. I'll never make it back to the village and without Camille it's not worth returning. I know I have lost her now.

I see a building in the distance. It's a strange structure surrounded by walls. There are many children playing inside the walls and lots of women dressed in long black dresses and some strange looking head coverings. I don't see any men in this village, just women and children. How can a village survive without men? I move closer to get a better look but I'm so weak. I've not eaten in days and it's so cold. I know I made it to the gate, I remember seeing a bald headed boy looking at me and then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Buck's POV**

When I woke the first thing I became aware of was the fact that I was no longer cold. I felt warm and safe. My first thought was I must have dreamed it all and was back home in my village and my mother was there tending me, the hand on my head was gentle like hers. Then I opened my eyes to see one of the women I had seen earlier in the walled in yard. It hadn't been a dream.

I tried to sit up but she pushed me back down. "Easy there son, you've been unconscious for three days. We were very worried for you. My name is Sister Margaret; can you tell me your name?"

I tried to tell this woman my name but I spoke it in Kiowa and she didn't understand. I struggled to remember how Camille had called me in English. "I'm called Running Buck." I finally remembered the English words.

"That's a nice name. Where did you come from?" Sister Margaret asked me.

"My Kiowa village is to the west of here. I left a little over a moon ago after my village was attacked by white trappers. They killed many of our women and children and stole my promised woman." I managed to explain. It had been a few years since I spoke English with Camille but it was all coming back now.

"You poor thing. How old are you? You seem awfully young to be promised to marry already." Sister Margaret said to me.

"I'm twelve summers. I had just proven myself worthy of becoming a man and being promised to Camille. We were to marry when we came of age." I ground out, the pain of my loss getting to me.

"Do you know where she was taken?" Sister Margaret asked.

"I lost their trail. It's too late now. There is nothing for me back in my village, my mother was killed during the attack, and now that Camille is gone. I do not wish to return to be scorn because of my white father." I confessed.

"Well Running Buck if you intend on staying in the white world you need to be educated. You need to learn our ways. You are welcome to stay here. We will teach you to read, write, and do sums. You will learn our ways and of our God. You will have food and shelter and all you must do in return is to do what is asked of you." Sister Margaret said to me.

"What must I do?" I asked.

"Wait here, I shall get Mother Superior. She will discuss things with you." Sister Margaret said before stepping out of the room that I was in.

A few minutes later a much older woman stepped into the room. "I'm Mother Superior. Sister Margaret tells me that you do not wish to return to your people. If you wish to stay here there are a few ground rules you must obey."

"I will do my best." I say sincerely.

Mother Superior quickly goes over all the rules I must now obey. I'm forced to remove my earring that I was awarded for proving my skill with a bow. She takes my knife and bow and arrows away from me. She tells me that they will be return whenever I leave the mission for good. I can only stay here until I turn fifteen. Since I don't know the exact date of my birth, the sisters just give me one. I wouldn't find out until later that they had given me the same birthday as the bald boy who I had seen just before my collapse.

Mother Superior forces me to remove my buckskins and put on white men's clothing. I'm not even allowed to keep my medicine pouch or the silver bracelet my mother had made me. I didn't think things could get any worse until I was forced to have my hair cut off short. I was already starting to regret my decision to stay amongst these people, but if I was to survive in the white man's world I had to learn their ways. I was just thankful that I at least already knew the language.

Well I had been thankful for that until I was sent to live in the boys' dorms. I learned I was not wanted among my father's people either. Everywhere I turned I was taunted and teased, tormented and beaten. I had just been beaten up for the second time in one day, when I saw the bald headed boy again. He was making faces at some of the younger children who ran away from him screaming. He turned and saw me. I ran thinking he would just hurt me next.

I just wanted to belong somewhere. I just wanted someone to want me, to want to be my friend. I had no idea that I had just ran away from the one person in the world who would come to mean more to me than I could ever imagine. The boy who would become my best friend and brother, I didn't know that he had been the one to get me help; I didn't know that he longed to be accepted as much as I did.

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><p><strong>Ike's POV<strong>

The young Indian had been in the hospital wing for three days when he was finally sent to live in the boys' dorm. I had been watching for him. I'd hoped he might want to be my friend. I had just scared one of the younger children away from me when I turned and saw him there looking at me. He looked like he had made 'friends' with the older boys with the bruises forming on his face. When he caught my eye, I saw a look of panic on his face before he took off running, so much for seeing if he wanted to be my friend.

The sisters placed the Indian in the same classes as me. I found out that he was called Running Buck but the sisters changed it to Buck Cross because he was a half breed. With Buck being there I wasn't beaten up by the older kids quite as often, they had to divide their time between the two of us it seems. I noticed that Buck did not have any friends either. I really wanted to be his friend but was scared to approach him again, I was afraid he would be scared of me too or that he would hurt me the same as the other boys.

Buck had been at the mission for almost three months when he ran off one day. Sister Margaret asked me to see if I could go find him in the woods, since I knew them better than most of the other students. I found Buck standing by a small creek not far from the mission yard. I stepped on a twig causing it to snap. He whirled and faced me; ready to pounce it looked like. I was scared; I could almost see why some of the others called him savage. Even though he was around my age, I could tell he could be deadly if he wanted to be, it was probably a good thing the sisters had taken his weapons from him when he first came here.

"Have you come to mock me too?" Buck asked.

I just looked at him. I reached my hand out to grab his arm trying to get him to understand that I was supposed to bring him back to the mission. Buck pulled away from me. "What are you here to beat me too?"

I shook my head no and reached for him again. Again he pulled away, "Don't touch me! What am I not good enough for you to even waste your breath on!" Buck yelled at me.

I threw up my hands in a helpless gesture. How could he not know that I could not speak? I pointed at him and then in the direction of the mission before I turned around and stormed away. I didn't know if he was following me or not and I didn't care. If he wanted to leave that was his choice, I wasn't going to go out of my way for him anymore.

At least that is what I told myself but when the sisters took us into town a few days later I changed my mind. I had just come out of the store to wait at the wagons for the sisters and other children to finish their shopping when I saw a scene that had me horrified. There was Buck down the street near the livery stables when a group of men from the saloon stumbled out of the door and surrounded him. I was too far away to hear what was being said but I knew he was in trouble so without thinking I ran into the thick of things.

I jumped onto one of the men's backs right after they started beating on Buck. It was enough to distract them for a minute but not long. For a couple of twelve year old boys we put up a good fight, but against four grown men we didn't stand a chance. The last thing I remember was a gun shot and the men running away. I collapsed to the ground next to Buck as the sisters rushed towards us.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Buck's POV**

I don't know why the bald boy had come to get me. I don't know why he didn't seem to want to hurt me. I don't know why he wouldn't talk to me. I just didn't understand. I followed behind him silently and returned to the mission. I wanted to ask Sister Margaret about the boy but I could not find her. I wanted to speak with the boy to find out why he hadn't hit me and why he wouldn't speak to me but every time I went near him he ran off. I decided to just give up.

A few days later the sisters took us into town on a shopping trip. The other children would often earn money for chores done around the mission to use for penny candy but any money I earned was always stolen by the older boys. So since I had no money I decided to walk down to the livery and look at the horses. I had only been there a few minutes when the livery owner ran me off.

I was on my way back to the wagons to wait for the sisters and the other children to finish shopping when four men stumbled out of the nearest saloon. One of them looked up and saw me, his face twisting into a devilish smile.

"Well, well what do we have here boys?" he sneered.

"Looks like a filthy little breed." Another one stated with an evil chuckle.

I tried to ignore them and just walk away but they surrounded me. "What's the matter injun think yer too good to talk to us?" the third man said.

"He probably is too stupid to know English." The last one sneered.

"I know English. I just don't want any trouble." I said simply.

"Well what do you know; them sisters done educated the breed." The first one said with a laugh.

"Let me pass please." I asked politely.

"I don't think so injun. I think you need to learn that ya ain't welcome in this town." The third man said shoving me.

"I don't want no trouble." I spoke quietly.

"Too bad." The second man said as he swung at me.

I caught his right hook hard on my jaw. He sent me sprawling in the dirt. I stood back up just in time to see the bald boy come flying out of nowhere and jumping on the ring leader's back. It was enough of a distraction for me to be able to get my bearings and to knock the third man onto his backside. The bald boy wasn't much bigger than me but we put up a good fight. I know we both got some good licks on the men, but we were just twelve year old boys and these were four grown men. If the marshal hadn't shot his gun into the air when he did I think they would have ended up killing us.

I was already lying in the dirt, holding my sides. I was pretty sure they had busted a couple of my ribs. After the gunshot the men took off running. The boy who had come to my defense collapsed onto the ground beside me. I managed to get to my knees beside him, trying to see if he was still alive. The sisters rushed up then with the town doctor hot on their heels.

"What happened young Mr. Cross?" Sister Martha asked me, I wasn't very familiar with this particular nun.

"I tried to ignore them sister, honestly I did, but those men decided that I needed to be taught a lesson because I'm an Indian." I tell her.

"So you did absolutely nothing to warrant their actions." She stated her disbelief evident in her tone.

"Sister, this really isn't the time for these questions. These boys are badly injured. I need to treat them." The doctor spoke up then.

"Very well we shall discuss this with Mother Superior after the doctor tends to you and young Mr. McSwain." Sister Martha said eyeing me.

After the doctor tended both our wounds he sent us back to the mission with the nuns with orders for us to stay in the hospital wing until we were healed. As soon as we were settled into two different rooms Mother Superior came in to speak with me.

"Mr. Cross, Sister Martha tells me that you and Young Mr. McSwain were in a fight in town. Care to tell me what happened?" Mother Superior asked me.

"I was just looking at the horses at the livery. When the owner told me to go away. I was on my way back to the wagons when four men came out of one of the saloons. They had been drinking and when they saw me, they decided that they would amuse themselves by tormenting me. I tried to ignore them and walk away but they surrounded me. When I continued to ignore them one of them punched me. Then the bald boy came out of nowhere and jumped on the leader's back. He just came to my defense." I explained quietly.

"That fits with what some of the other children saw and what the marshal said. You were very lucky, that you didn't suffer worst injuries." Mother Superior said to me.

"The boy is he alright?" I asked.

"He's sleeping right now, but he will be fine in few days." Mother Superior said.

"I don't understand why he helped me. Every time I would go near him before he would just run away. And just a few days ago he was sent to find me in the woods but he wouldn't even speak to me. Why would he help me?" I ask her.

"You don't know about Isaac do you?" Mother asked me.

"Is that his name?" I asked.

Mother Superior smiled at me, "Isaac McSwain is the boy who helped you in town. He came to live here when he was just nine years old. He had lost his family after they were killed by bandits. Young Isaac saw the whole thing. He hasn't been able to speak since that day."

"He can't talk?" I ask.

"No, he tries but no sound ever comes out. He hears just fine and he's a very bright boy but some of the others do not see it. I'm afraid that the other children are just as hateful to him as they seem to be to you." Mother Superior said.

"What happened to his hair?" I asked.

"He lost in after he suffered from Scarlet Fever. He's not contagious despite what the other children might think. You won't go mute or lose your hair if he touches you." Mother said.

I laughed but it hurt my sides. I held them as I bit back a groan. "Can I go see him?"

"I'll let Sister Margaret know to come get you when he wakes." Mother replied moving to leave the room, "Get some rest Mr. Cross."

I had been lying there for a few hours when my door opened and Sister Margaret walked in. "Isaac is awake Buck if you would care to visit him."

I struggled to sit up; Sister Margaret came forward and helped me to my feet. She kept her arm around me as she helped me walk across the hall and into the room that Isaac McSwain was in. He looked up as we entered, he offered a weak smile. Sister Margaret helped me into the seat by the bed and then stepped outside to give us some privacy.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me today. I also wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day at the stream. I did not know you couldn't talk." I told the boy.

He gave me a small nod and looked down at his lap. "Can you write Isaac?" I asked.

He nodded his head and pointed to a notebook on the bedside table; I picked it up and handed it to him. "I'm still learning to read but I think I can read enough for us to get by for now."

He grinned and wrote, "You look really bad."

"You don't look that good either. I'm Running Buck, I mean Buck Cross. Mother Superior said your name was Isaac McSwain." I replied with a slight grin.

"Call me Ike." He wrote on the paper.

"Alright Ike, I think I can help you talk." I said.

"What do you mean?" he wrote.

"Well I can't give you a real voice but I can teach you to speak with your hands. My people have a sign language that we use with other tribes when we don't know their language. The signs are pretty standard among the different nations. Would you like to learn?" I explain to him.

Ike smiled and nodded his head. We spent the remainder of our time in the hospital wing together. Every minute of it was pretty much used to teach Ike signs. Sister Margaret and Mother Superior would often sit in with us so they could learn too. That way Ike would be able to talk to them as well without me having to translate for him.

I was actually thankful to those men that decided to beat me up that day, if it hadn't been for them, Ike and I may not have become friends. But because of them I had found a friend. I had found someone who accepted me. Someone who saw past the color of my skin, I had found a brother that day.

**Ike's POV**

Buck spent every minute of our time in the hospital wing giving me a new voice. By the time we were allowed to return to our dorm I could carry on a conversation with him without having to write anything down. Every day we would practice and he would teach me more signs. I realized my wish had been granted, I had a voice again and I had a friend.

We became inseparable after that. With Buck by my side I didn't have to make faces and drool at the other children. I had someone to watch my back, the same as I watched his. The older boys left us alone for the most part after that, it wasn't fun to beat us up when there were two of us because it was no longer an unfair fight. We could hold our own against them now; we could even beat them if the need arose. After the first fight we won we were left alone.

Now when we went with the sisters into town we both had money to buy candy if we wanted it, the other boys were no longer taking it from us. Only problem was that the store keeper wouldn't do business with Buck, so I had to deal with him. Other than a few ignorant comments from the other children and people in town life was alright in the mission.

I had a voice and I had a friend. But Buck was more than a friend he was a brother. He accepted me despite my inability to speak. He had given me a voice, he had given me friendship. For the next three years life was pretty normal. We did the things normal teenage boys did, we teased the girls, played pranks on the nuns, got into fights sometimes, skipped classes to go fishing or hunting. It was a good three years and then we turned fifteen and were sent from the mission.

I found out that life outside the mission walls was cruel and painful. Almost all the towns we went into would run us out immediately because of Buck. Sometimes we would both find a job, they were never good jobs and the pay was always terrible but at least it put food in our bellies. Other times I was the only one who could find a job. During those times, I would share whatever food I had with my brother after everybody had gone to bed and I could sneak it to him.

And then there were the times when there was no work at all for either one of us. Buck would set up snares and traps or would go hunting with his bow. We never went hungry. We may not have had much but at least we had each other and food in our stomachs. But I knew the insults thrown at Buck hurt him. He would never say anything, he would never fight back, not even when he was spit on, but I could see how his shoulders would slump even more with each mean word or punch thrown at him. I was worried that one day, the weight would be just too much for him to bear and I would lose the only friend and family I had.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Buck's POV**

We've been on our own for three years now. Sometimes I think it would be best for Ike if I went my separate way. Maybe then he would be able to find a permanent place in one of the towns we went to. Because of me we were consistently on the move, taking whatever jobs we could find, more often than not I couldn't find a job. I felt useless and worthless. I could take the insults, I could take a punch, even the spitting was manageable, it was the fact that my skin color was keeping my best friend and brother from finding a place that hurt the most.

We had just ridden into a new town. The town was called Sweetwater, I wondered if the people of the town were as nice as the name of the town. Ike spotted a sign advertising for something called the Pony Express and pointed it out.

"What do you think Buck, should we find out if they will take us?" Ike signed to me.

"Wanted young men preferably orphans to deliver mail. Must be expert horsemen. Well we both can ride really well, and you're really good with horses. It's worth a try, although maybe you should do it by yourself." I said to him.

"Why?" Ike signed.

"Ike you know once they take one look at me that were most likely gonna be run out of town. Maybe it would be best if we went our separate ways, maybe then you could find a place to settle down, maybe meet a pretty girl or something." I told him looking down at the ground.

Ike hit his chest three times to get my attention, "Buck either we do this together or not at all. I'm not going anywhere without you. Besides without you there to translate for me, how long do you reckon I would last on my own? You're the one who always makes sure we have food and shelter, if it wasn't for you I'd most likely be dead by now, I'd never have survived that first winter after we left the mission on my own."

I grinned, "Alright we do this together."

We dismounted our horses and tied them to the hitching post before we made our way into the building that had the advertisement in the window. There was a little man sitting behind a large counter writing in some sort of ledger. He looked up when he heard the bell jingle, "Can I help you gents with something?"

"We saw the sign for the Pony Express and wanted to know what we had to do to sign up." I said to him.

The man looked us both over. He didn't seem to care that I was obviously a half breed. "You two got any family?"

"No sir, at least not that we know of." I replied, I didn't think he would want to know that my brother was a war chief among the Kiowa.

"Can you read?" he asked us.

"Yes sir, we both went to a mission school together." I replied.

"Very well sign here." The man said pointing to a line on the oath he had us read over. We both signed our names. The little man pulled out two bibles and some money. "Bibles for your souls and money for your pockets. Welcome to the Express, you are to report out to Ms. Shannon." The man said and then gave us directions to the station. Leaving the bibles on the counter, Ike had one already and I didn't believe in it, we left the building and went across the street to the gunsmith. If this job was as dangerous as it sounded we were both going to need a gun.

After we purchased our guns we followed the directions to Ms. Shannon's place. As the station came into view I had a momentary feeling of panic. What if Ms. Shannon sent me packing? What if the station master didn't want me there? What if the other riders didn't want me? If it came down to that, I was determined to make Ike stay, he deserved the chance to find a place to belong.

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><p><strong>Ike's POV<strong>

I could tell Buck was anxious as we made our way into the station yard and truth of the matter so was I. I knew if they sent Buck away he would try to leave me behind, I couldn't allow that to happen. I prayed to God that they would accept us both. I couldn't survive without Buck and Buck may not admit it, but I doubted he would be able to survive without me.

I spotted the strawberry blonde woman first. She was sitting on her porch shelling peas when we entered the yard. She looked up at us and smiled. "Howdy boys, you must be some of the new riders." She called out.

I nodded and Buck said, "Yes ma'am. I'm Buck Cross and this is Ike McSwain."

The woman came off the porch to greet us. She looked us over, "It's nice to meet you boys. I'm Emma Shannon; I'm going be the station house mother. Mr. Spoon is the station master; he'll meet you boys over by the corral tomorrow morning. In the meantime why don't you boys go on in the bunkhouse and make yourselves at home. Some of the other boys are already in there. Lunch will be ready shortly."

"Thank you ma'am." Buck said with a soft smile. I gave her a bashful grin before I turned and followed Buck to the building she called the bunkhouse. We entered to spot four other boys inside. They all looked up at us, giving us the once over. I gave them a smile and Buck just stood there silently.

"Well don't just stand there all day, pick ya out a bunk. Ms. Shannon said lunch would be ready soon and I can't wait, I'm about starved." The blonde hair boy said with a grin. The other three groaned.

"You'll have to excuse Cody seems all he thinks about is his stomach. Name's Kid." The blue eyed chestnut hair boy said walking over to me and Buck to shake our hands.

"Buck Cross and this is Ike McSwain." Buck said shaking his hand and then putting his hand on my shoulder. I smiled and shook Kid's hand.

"Nice to meet ya Buck, Ike." Kid replied and then turned to the other riders. "Well I already told you that one's Cody." Kid said pointing to the blonde again.

"William F. Cody to be exact, you can call me Billy or Cody." Cody interrupted. We nodded our heads in his direction.

"That's Jimmy." Kid said pointing to the boy sitting at the table polishing his ivory handle colt.

"James Butler Hickok actually, most folks just call me Jimmy." He said without looking up.

Kid was just about to introduce the last rider when the short fella stepped forward and pushed Kid aside. "I can introduce myself." The small rider said in a strange sounding voice. There was something that didn't seem quite right about this boy, but I just figured he was still really young.

"Name's Lou McCloud, it's nice to meet you Ike and Buck." Lou said shaking both our hands.

"Nice to meet you Lou." Buck replied with a smirk. I wondered about the smirk.

"You don't talk much do ya Ike?" Cody piped up then.

"Ike can't talk. He hears just fine but he can't speak. He using Indian sign to communicate and he can write." Buck said.

"Could you teach me sign that way I can talk to him?" Lou asked Buck. I gave him a smile.

"I'd be happy to Lou." Buck replied with a grin. I could tell what he was thinking, since at least one of the riders was willing to learn to talk to me, maybe our chances of fitting in here were good.

The one called Hickok finally looked up at us. He looked me over and grinned, "Well I reckon I should learn that sign stuff too since I can't read."

"Probably be a good idea for all of us to learn it, that way we won't have to depend on Buck to translate for us." Kid said.

Me and Buck shared a smile. "I'd be happy to teach whoever wanted to learn. It's not real complicated."

"I got a question." Cody said suddenly.

"What's that Cody?' Lou asked.

"Question's for Buck, not you Lou." Cody stated with a lazy grin.

"What do ya want to know Cody?" Buck asked a worried frown on his face.

"You an Indian?" Cody asked.

Everybody in the room went completely silent as they waited for Buck's reaction. Buck smirked and walked up to Cody. "Half breed, Kiowa to be exact. You got a problem with that?"

"Nope, just was wondering." Cody replied with a grin.

Everybody visible relaxed after that and went about their business. Me and Buck picked out our bunks. Buck picked a single bunk and I took the top bunk above Cody. We had just put away our meager belongings when Emma walked in. "I need a couple of you boys to help me carry lunch over."

Buck and I quickly volunteered. As we were carrying the food over Buck explained to Emma that I couldn't speak, but she assured us that it wouldn't be a problem as long as I could ride. After we had the food on the table, Emma asked the blessing and we dug in. That was the best meal I could ever remember eating.

After we finished our lunch Emma had all of us do a few chores around the station. We were expected to earn our keep even when we weren't riding. There were always things that needed fixing, horses that needed tending, stalls that needed cleaning. The horses that the station had at the moment were already trained but Emma told us that they would be getting fresh ones in from time to time and it would be our job to break them in. I looked forward to it.

The next morning we all reported to the corral to meet our station master. We lined up along the fence line and waited for him to appear. It took me a second to realize that our station master was already there and that he was currently submerged in the horse trough. I just stared at it trying to comprehend. I noticed the other riders doing the same. Buck had a complete look of shock on his face. This was going to be interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Ike's POV**

Teaspoon was an odd one alright. As he made his way up and down the line of us riders I was worried he wouldn't accept Buck and me. He looked Buck over and asked about his heritage but didn't say anything against it, he just asked him to identify a couple of arrows. Then he moved on. I breathed a sigh of relief that Teaspoon didn't seem to have a problem with Buck. Emma, Teaspoon, and the other riders had accepted him; that was the first time that many people had accepted Buck almost immediately.

Teaspoon moved on to me. I panicked a little when he knocked my hat off and started asking me questions but I should have known Buck would speak up for me. After Teaspoon said it didn't matter if I could talk or not as long as I could ride I got a big smile on my face. We had both been accepted by everybody. I don't remember the last time that had happened. I'm not sure it ever has to be honest. True we have found work together in the past, but it didn't mean we were accepted by those employing us or working with us. These people seemed to actually accept us though.

We were an odd group. Teaspoon was an ex Texas Ranger among many other things. He told us he had been married six times, twice to Indians. I figured that is way he was accepting of Buck, he had lived with Indians for a better part of his life. Emma Shannon was kind and caring to all of us, she reminded me of my mother. I overheard her tell Teaspoon that we weren't orphans as long as she was around, that actually made me cry, not that I let anybody know. Jimmy Hickok had a lot of demons in his past. I don't know what his story is but I wouldn't want to get on his bad side. Cody was a clown he spent more time thinking about girls and his stomach than actually doing his chores, but he was a decent enough sort, just needed to grow up some.

Unfortunately life has a way of making people grow up quicker than they should. I think that was the deal with Lou. Something happened to make her do this, to make her pretend to be what she isn't. It took me a little while to figure out what was odd about her, but after I got to watching the way Buck would keep an eye on her I realized what was off, he was a she. Buck had known right away I'm sure. I didn't tell him I knew and he didn't tell me he did and we both didn't tell Lou we knew her secret.

Kid was the one I really couldn't understand. He seemed to be a greenhorn based on his appearance; he just gave off this vibe of being a bit naïve. But then Jimmy challenged him to a shooting competition. When Kid was actually the better shot, I knew there was more to him than met the eye, I just didn't know what. There was a reason why he went simply by the Kid and refused to give us any other name, whatever was in his past he wanted to keep it there. I could understand that.

But despite our obvious differences we were fast becoming friends. We worked well together for the most part and got along for the majority of the time. Cody and Jimmy got into it a couple of times but it was nothing serious, Cody was just being the natural clown that he was and Jimmy just happened to be his choice target. None of us knew at the time that the friendship we were forming would become an even stronger bond; we would become a family, maybe not by blood but by choice.

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><p><strong>Buck's POV<strong>

To say I was surprised by how quickly the other riders seemed to accept me and Ike would have been an understatement. That fact that they were willing to learn sign so they could talk to Ike was something I had not expected. Lou was definitely not what I expected. I wonder if anybody else realizes that Lou McCloud isn't what she is pretending to be. Well if they don't, I'm not going to tell them. She has to have some reason for doing this; I can only imagine what it is. I make a mental note to watch over her without the others or Lou being aware of it.

When we all went to the corral to meet our station master I was in for another surprise. Teaspoon sure wasn't what I expected even more so than the riders. I had never seen anybody bathe in a horse trough before. This Teaspoon fella was an odd one. After he got out and dressed he went over what the Pony Express was. I couldn't help but think this job might be more than we bargained for.

After Teaspoon said his spiel he walked up to me and looked me over. "Half-blood?" he asked, I just nodded my head, hoping he wasn't fixing to send me away. "Kiowa?"

"Kiowa." I replied evenly, waiting for the insults.

Teaspoon just walked over to pick up some arrows from the fence post. After he had me identify a couple he pulled out one last one for me to identify. I took it, a smirk forming on my face. This arrow had not been made by an Indian, but it was still very well made. "This one you made." I said as I handed it back to him, with a slight laugh. Teaspoon just chuckled and moved on to Jimmy.

I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I had passed his strange test. Teaspoon didn't seem to be impressed with Jimmy; I think he could tell Jimmy was going to be trouble one way or another. After he finished sizing him up Teaspoon moved on to Ike. "What's your story? Well speak up." Teaspoon said to Ike.

"He can't talk. He can hear just can't talk." I tell Teaspoon, ready to defend my brother if the need arose.

"He got a name?" Teaspoon asked looking over at me.

"Ike McSwain, he's real good with horses." I tell him, hoping that Teaspoon would give Ike a chance. The others had accepted us and I was looking forward to getting to know them but if Teaspoon sent Ike away I would go with him.

Teaspoon nodded his head and turned back to Ike, "Well Ike, reckon it don't matter none if ya can talk or not as long as you can ride." Ike grinned and I breathed another sign of relief. We both had been accepted.

After Teaspoon finished looking over the rest of the riders he got busy training us. It was going to be hard work, the long hours in the saddle were going to take a toll on our bodies, but it was honest labor and it paid well, plus we got room and board. For the most part we all got along real well. Jimmy and Cody got into a few times because Cody seemed to be a natural jokester and Jimmy didn't take kindly being the one on the receiving end of his jokes.

After about a week the others knew enough of Ike's signs to understand for the most part what he was saying, Lou however seemed to have a better grasp on it than the others. I was impressed by this girl, she was doing a man's job and she was holding her own, she was a tough one. I wished there was a way I could let her know I knew her secret and wouldn't tell anyone, but I figured if she wanted us to know she would have told us. So I just pretended she was a boy.

On her very first run she was waylaid by outlaws. Kid found her and signaled the rest of us. I suspected after Kid found Lou he discovered her secret. I was actually surprised he hadn't said anything, though I think he had been close to telling us when he kept telling Lou she couldn't come with us to get the horses and pouch back. If he had I would have fought for her to be able to keep riding, I didn't see a reason why her being a girl should stop her from doing the job when she rode as well if not better than some of us. But he kept quiet so I did too.

I put my tracking skills to work and found the outlaws. With the help of the new volley guns that the station received we were able to take the outlaws into custody and get back the horses and mail they stole from the relay station Lou was waylaid at.

By working together we had accomplished something that otherwise would have been impossible. We were developing a bond of friendship unlike any that most of us had ever known. We were forging a family. For the longest time, it had just been me and Ike against the world, now we had a ragtag group of orphans, an eccentric station master, and a caring housemother to stand with us. We had found a place to belong, and this was only the beginning.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok I hope everybody enjoyed this one. Originally I had meant for this story idea to be a one shot but it just didnt want to stay that way. If you have a request for a certain type of story PM me and I will see if I have a story idea that will fit, if not I might just come up with another idea that will work. Look forward to hearing what ya'll think.**


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